Aaron Palensky #1

Signed with the New York Yankees as an undrafted free agent on June 18, 2020 out of Nebraska... played at Papillion-La Vista South High School, where in 2017 he was awarded a second-team USA Today All-Nebraska selection... attended Southeast Community College in Lincoln, Nebraska after high school and batted .417 with 18 home runs, 77 RBIs, 72 runs scored, 24 stolen bases and 43 extra-base hits, while posting an .850 slugging percentage and .515 on-base percentage... transferred to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and played there from 2019-2020... made an immediate impact during his first season at Nebraska on his way to second-team All-Big Ten honors -- he led the Husker offense in nearly every offensive statistical category, including a .320 batting average (71-for-222), which ranked eighth in the Big Ten; he also led the team in hits (71), runs scored (43), home runs (7) and total bases (107), while sharing the team high in doubles (11) and triples (2) and he ranked second on the team in RBIs (35) while going 6-for-6 in stealing bases... started all 15 games in right field in 2020 before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic... went undrafted and got a job with Amazon as a delivery driver in Fremont, Nebraska in the summer of 2020 when the New York Yankees called him. “I answered and the guy said he was from the Yankees, and I remember I was driving and just stopped the truck and pulled over right away to talk to him,” Palensky told Nebraska News Service. “Right after that, I called my dad like, ‘Pops, Pops, the Yankees just called me.’” ... the Yankees signed him in June 2020 but the Minor League season had been wiped out by Covid... made his Yankees debut on May 20, 2021 with Double-A Somerset, going 2-for-5 at Hartford... appeared in 37 games with Somerset in 2021, batting .216 with two homers... the Yankees moved him down to Hudson Valley in 2022, where he hit .251 with 10 homers and 34 RBIs in 77 games... began the 2023 season with Hudson Valley before New York promoted him to Somerset on May 30... parents are Jim and DeeDee Palensky; he has one sister, Leah, and three brothers, Caleb, Sam and Ben... enjoys playing disc golf... majored in sports media and communication at Nebraska... hometown is Papillion, Nebraska